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NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor has dismissed the murder complaint against Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo and two other officials stemming from the killing of a political campaigner in 2016.
In a 14-page resolution dated May 24, Associate Prosecution Attorney II Ken Furuyama cited insufficient evidence in dismissing the complaint of former Moises Padilla councilor Agustin Grande III against Yulo, Vice Mayor Adrian Villaflor, and Councilor Moreto Flores.
Yulo received a copy of the resolution on Tuesday, July 2.
Furuyama said the complainant “failed to sufficiently establish” the concurring elements for Yulo and Villaflor to be held liable for the killing of Magdaleno “Nonong” Grande, the brother of the complainant.
The New People’s Army had claimed responsibility for the killing of Nonong Grande on May 1, 2016.
Agustin Grande claimed that Yulo and Villaflor were behind the killing of his brother, with the help of the NPA.
Two witnesses, including a former security aide of Yulo, had claimed that Yulo was an NPA supporter, and pointed to her and Villaflor as the the mastermind behind the killing.
The Office of the Provincial Prosecutor said the complainant and the witnesses failed to establish who ordered the killing of Nonong Grande.
“It’s a basic rule in evidence that a witness can testify only on the facts that he knows of his personal knowledge…. A witness may not testify on what he merely learned, read or heard from others because testimony is considered hearsay,” it added.
It also dismissed the murder complaint against Flores as his supposed role in the death of Grande remained a mystery to the prosecutors.
Yulo had categorically denied the murder allegation, and deemed the statements of the witnesses as “concocted scenarios and make-believe statements.” She also denied any links to the NPA.
Yulo said that the complaint was just another scheme of her political opponents to destroy her reputation.
It was another victory for Yulo who survived an ambush during the campaign, and won the mayoral race in her town. However, she lost her brother, Mark Garcia, and nephew, Councilor Michael Garcia, in that April 25 ambush. – Rappler.com
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